Spring-beard needle.



F. WILCOMB.

SPRING BEARD NEEDLE.-

' APPLICATION man SEPT. 9, 1916.

Patented Mar. 18,1919.-

a l M L Sew/011s A 4 4- FRANK WILCOMB,

OF NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WILDMAN MFG.

(10., 0F NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

SPRING-BEARD NEEDLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 18, 1919.

Application filed September 9, 1916. Serial No. 119,269.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK WILCOMB, .a

citizen of the United States, residing at Norristown, Pa., have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Spring-Beard Needles, of whichthe following is a specification.

The invention relates to spring beard needles and one object thereof isto provide a construction which will not be subject to crystallizationat the nose, this being due in prior practice to the movement of thebeard in ressing.

pring beard needles of the common variety are' formed with beardsconsiderably thinner than the nose and with the stem back of the beardconsiderably heavier than either, so that when the beard is pressed themovement takes place in the beard and about a point at the nose andafter a period of use, the bent nose crystallizes and the beard I dropsoff.

In carrying out my invention I form the needle stem back of the beardthinner than has been done heretofore and I make this portion as-thin orthinner than the beard from the nose downward, and of a substantiallyuniform size for a long distance so that the bend shall not be confinedto one spot which would tend to crystallize the metal. The flexingaction is distributed over a long distance, no one point getting morebending movement than another. The

beard also has a long uniform size of wire that must bend in a long arewithout localizing at a spot and having a tendency to crystallize, sothat the flexing action takes place in this part and in the beard, itbeing intended to avoid flexing at the nose.

Further I provide a construction in which the nose is stiffened againstflexing movement without increasing the amount of metal in the nose overthat of the needle stem back of the beard, the efiect being, when thebeard is pressed, that a long portion of the needle stem back of thebeard bends in a long are well below the nose and in that portion backof the beard while the nose itself being stiffened moves bodily but doesnot bend within itself or at the point where it joins the beard. Thebeard may also bend in the usual manner.

Not only does the construction provide a stiffening against bendi of thenose, as the heard is pressed, but 1t provides a nose thinner than thestem so that sufficient space is allowed for the yarn between theneedle, and needle walls, or web holders. Space has heretofore beenprovided by making the head of the needle tapered from the stem to thenose, and the beard continuing the taper toits point. The needle nose isabout twenty per cent. narrower than the stem in ordinary needles. Inthe present instance the stem width continues uniform up to the pointwhere the nose is thinned. The thinned nose may be about twenty percent. less in thickness than the stem and beard while the measurement indepth, 2'. e. vertically in the illustration, Figures 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10,will be about twenty per cent. greater than the depth. of the flexingportion of the needle stems Other features of the invention will beclear from the following description and the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings a Fig. 1 is a view of a blank from which myimproved needle is made, this view also showing cross sections of thewire at the points opposite which the sections are located. V I

Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 showing the-blank of said Fig. 1after flattening, this View also showing cross sections of the wire atpoints adjacent the location of the cross sections.

Fig. 3 is a front View of the needle.

Fig. 4 is a side view of a needle embodying the invention, this viewalso including a certain cross sectional view.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4: showing a needle adapted forplating.

Fig. 6 is a view of the needle of Fig. 5, when pressed, this Viewserving to show the action which would take place 1n connection with theneedle of Fig. 5 when the same is pressed.

Figs. 7 and 8 are views of a needle of ordinary form.

Figs. 9, 9 and 10 are views of general style of needle as in Figs. 7 and8 but with my improvement embodied therein.

In these drawings, 1 is the blank from which the needle is formed, thisbeing of round wire the upper end of which is reduced in diameter abovethe lines FF and the extreme upper end being tapered above edge or sidea of the blank is made to lie in the same plane throughout, includingthetapered end portion or' point. The portion of the blank above theline FF is of the same size and flattened shape throughout up to theline ee where the taper occurs for the front of the beard. This portionbetween the line FF and the tapered point, under the flattening actionassumes substantially oval-like form, as indicated by the crosssectional view at b. The needle beard, the nose and the portion of thestem back of the beard are all formed from the oval portion of the blankabove the line EE, so that when this portion is bent into the form of ahook the part back of the stem will be as thin as the beard itself andwill be capable of flexing when the beard is pressed. After bending, thenose is flattened at K and is thus stifi'ened. Under these conditions,when pressing takes place, the entire upper portion of the needle willbend in a long are as indicated in Fig. 6, and the needle beard willalso bend in the usual way, but there will be no bending in the needlenose itself. The dotted line 00 in said figure represents the verticalposition or the normal position of the back of the needle. This bendingof the portion back of the beard is contrary to prior methods, asgenerally carried out in factory practice, in which the back of theneedle "does not bend in rear of the beard but all of the flexing takesplace at the nose and in the heard so far as the needle head isconcerned. The flattened or oval form of wire contributes to the flexingof the stem back of the hook, it bein understood of course that themajor axis 0 the oval wire is at right angles to the direction in whichthe flexing takes place. Therefore the needle during the pressing actionis more flexible in the direction of the beard closing movement than ina side direction and the bending action is distributed over a greaterlength of wire than has been the case under prior factory practice inwhich the bending takes place within the nose.

By distributing the bending action in a long are we eliminate the localcrystallization point which has always been at the head ornoseheretofore.

M etkod of making the needle.

rocess of manufacturing the new card needle produces a new struc- Thespring ture throughout that part which is generally beard, beard point,the nose, and the stem back of the beard extending as far down the stemas corresponds to the length of beard. The process employed may bebetter understood by describing briefly a common practice of making thispart of spring beard needles. This involvestaking a round wire andmilling approximately half of the circle away for a distance sufficientto bend the nose and beard. The milled corners of the round wire arethen slightly rounded on bufiing wheels to takeaway the sharp edge. Themilling of the round wire makes a tapered blade with a greater amount ofmetal next to the round stem and a. gradual lessening of metal to thepoint of the wire. This leaves a wire substantially a half circle at apoint equidistant from the beginning to the end of milling. After thebeard is bent and the nose formed we have a structure in which there isa constantly decreasing amount of metal in the composition of the needlefrom thestem to the nose and from the nose to the beard point. All thesteps of making this needle are not referred to as the method is wellunderstood in the needle making art.

By my process the round wire is reduced from the point E--E to F, F Fig.1 by what areiknown commercially as swaging machines, which hammer thewire in a round form to-smaller diameter and the w re may be taperedduring this swaging operation to make the point. From F, F to 0' -0' theneedle is-round and of uniform diameter, preferably throughout thisdistance. From 0 to the end of the wire the wire istapered to a point.The wire at this time has about the'shape or contour of a sewing machineneedle without the eye or thread groove of such a needle. The wire isnow placed on a flattening die and a die is pressed against the upperside forcing the round wire, as in Fig. 2, to desired thickness whichwill leave the wire in cross section with half round edges or sides,with a flattened front and back face produced by the dies and thepreferred proportion of the thickness to width milled variety. Theneedle beard and'nose are now shaped by beard benders in the ordinarymanner. The needle has now become distinctive by reason of it having astem unswaged and rolmd and a needle stem back of the heard of a widthequal to the unswaged stem, a depth (thickness) considerably less thanhalf the diameter of the unsw aged wire, and the needle stem back of thebeard has a long section of metal of uniform width and thickness and thenose has the usual face contour for spring beard neefrom a round wire.

menses dles but in cross section, it has substantially an oval shapebeing as wide as the stem of the needle, which is unswaged and of adepth substantially equal to the stem back of the beard. The needlebeard has the same depth as the stem back of the beard for a greaterpart of its length and a width equal to the stem back of the heard for alarge part of its length.

The pointed end of the beard is a gradual taper having a width at allpoints greatly in excess of its depth at any given point. lhe 'needlehas great flexibility in the direction of closing the beard and it isunusually stilf against any sidewise deflection. The usual spring beardneedle has a much narrower nose than stem and it has been considerednecessary to have the needle of this lesser size to permit the yarncarried by the needle to pass between the needle and the metal guidingwall, sinker or web holder. The nose of my needle is flattened betweendies to any desired thickness corresponding to needles of the usual formof a corresponding gage. This pressed nose at K in cross section has awidth from one laterfl face to the other of less than the width of theneedle stem, and it will have expanded the contour of the bend on theoutside and reduced the size of the opening in the nose by reason of themetal flowing during the pressing of the nose.

lhe cross segrtion of the bent nose will be mgbstantiallyr square withheavily rounded corners .whichis a desirable form and serves to stifienthe nose against any flexing when the needle beard is pressed theflexing taking place in the stem back of beard and in beard itself. lhenext step in the method, if the needles are desired to be thinner. fromside to side than they are deep is to place the use dle in flatteningdies and the needle is reduced by flattening a few thouszfndths of aninch throughout the length of the stem and that portion of the beardbetween the nose and the beginning of the taper of the beard which isconsiderably less than half the length of the beard. This needle aftertempering and polishing in usual way has great durability, strength andtakes a better temper by reasonlpf the metal being swaged smooth, than aiteedle which has been milled I The process-reduced to a few wordscjnsists in swaging a round wire, flattening' the reduced portion untilit attains a width equal to the m'ain round wire of the stem and afterbending the nose and beard in the usual way, compressing the nose dlestem and beard with the object of producing a needle having roundedsurfaces inside and outside of the needle beard and stemback of beardand a nose having rounded inside or outside surfaces, the nose beingmuch thinner laterally than the stem and beard but stifl'ened in thedirection in which the needle must bend in pressing.

It Wlll be clear that the part of the needle stem back of the beard maybe thinner than the beard itself, and this Will in greater degree throwthe flexing at this point.

It 1s 1mportant in needles that all the corners be well rounded and lhave found that a roundgvire flattened by pressing produces practicallyan oval wire which when bent to form the nose and heard has betterrounded surfaces than a milled needle of the usual form. I have alsofound when the needle nose of a milled needle is pressed to thin itlaterally that the inside or yarn surto bending the heard I may have aneedle stifl'er in the direction .sidewise or in line with the majoraxis of the oval'than is the case with ordinary needles, and the needlenose which is made of oval wire when compressed is stiffer in thedirection of the pressing movement of the needle, the metal being set upon edge.

The needle nose thinned by pressing, gives the desired stifl'nessagainst flexing, without increasing the amount of metal in the nose.Increasing the amount of metalis objectionable owing to it being toolarge for the stitches, and too wide to allow yarn space between theneedle walls or web holders. To meet this objection, liner needles areordinarily used, in which case the beards and the stems of the needleare too delicate for yarns that must be used with a needle having areinforced nose.

I claim v 1. A spring beard needle having flexion in a long arc in itsstem back of the beard, in the beard itself, and having an inflexiblehose of equivalent cross-sectionalarea to its adjoining parts, said nosebeing thinner than the stem and heard and with its major axis parallelto the needle stem, substanalong the major axis of the needle, said nose{being thinner than the needle stem and beard, substantially asdescribed.

3. A spring beard needle having fiexion in the stem back of the beardand a nonflexing nose, the metal of which is deeper than wide, butnarrower than the contiguous parts of the beard and stem.

4. A sprin beard needle having flexion in the stem bac of the beard anda non-flextened at right-angles to the direction of the movement of thebeard in pressing and said nose being flattened at right-angles to theplane of the flattened stem.

6. spring beard needle having its nose flattened laterally and of lesswidth than adj acent parts of the stem and board but of equivalentcross-sectional area tothe ad joining parts, whereby said nose-isrendered inflexible relative to the stem back of the beard and the bearditself.

7 A spring beard needle having its beard and stem back of the beard ofsubstantially equal width throughout and with the nose of less widththan said beard and stem, but of equivalent sectional area to said stemand beard, substantially as described.

8. A spring beard needle havingits stem back of the beard ofsubstantially oval shape in cross section and of substantially equalwidth but of less depth than the main part of the stem, the rear face ofsaid main stem and the oval portion back of the beard being in line, thebeard vhaving its mam part above its tapered lower end ofsubstantiallythe same cross sectional shape as the stem back of thebeard, and a substantially inflexible nose, substantially as describe 9..A spring beard needle having its stem and be"ard of substantially ovalcross sectional shape, and with their major axes extending from side toside of the needle and a nose portion substantially of oval crosssectional shape with its major axis at right angles and extending in adirection. lengthwise of the needle, said nose being of less width thanthe adjacent parts-of the beard and stem, and non-flexible in respect tothe beard and stem, substantially as described.-

10. A spring beard needle having a nose laterally flattened and expandedoutwardly and inwardly in respect to the adjacent portions of the stemandbeard, and being of less width than the beard and stem, substantiallyas des ribed. I v 11. A spring beardneedle flattened in its beard and inits stem back of the beard at right angles to the direction of movementof the beard, and flattened at the nose at right angles to the flattenedstem and beard, said ,ture.

than the adjacent parts of the stem and beard, said nose being deeperthan wide,

substantially as described.

13. The hereindescribed process of makang a spring beard needleconsisting in swaging a round wire to a smaller diameter, throughoutthat portion which is to form the beard and the stem back of the beard,then flattening the wire of reduced diameter into substantially ovalform, then bending the flattened wire in a direction at right angles tothe major axis of the oval, to provide a nose, beard and a flexible stemportion back of the beard, and then flattening the nose laterally of theneedle, substantially as described.

14. The hereindescribed processof making a spring beard needleconsisting in swaging a round wire to a smaller equal diameterthroughout that portion which is to form the beard, the nose and thestem backof the beard, pointing its end, swaging this reduced portion tosubstantially oval cross sectional shape while maintaining one flattenedface thereof substantially coincident with the face of the unreducedmain stem portion, and with the rounded side faces substantiallycoincident with the sides of'the main stem portion, bending the ovalwire in a direction at right angles to the major axis of the oval toprovide a nose,

beard, and a flexible portion back of the beard, and thinning the noseportion laterally, substantially as described.

15. The hereindescribed processv of making a spring beard needleconsisting in swaging a portion of a round wire to substantially ovalcross sectional shape while maintaining one flattened face thereofsubstantially coincident with the face of the unreduced main stemportion,.and with the rounded side faces substantially coincident withthe sides of the main stem portion, bending the oval wire in a directionat right angles to the major axis of the oval to pro vide a nose, beard,and a flexible portion back of the beard, and thinning the nose portionlaterally, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signa- FRANK WILCOMB.

